Funding bodies
Fund Goal
The MEDIA sub-programme of Creative Europe supports the EU film and audiovisual industries financially in the development, distribution and promotion of their work. It helps to launch projects with a European dimension and nurtures new technologies; it enables European films and audiovisual works including...
Fund Goal
To encourage co-operation between professionals working in different countries by providing financial support to European co-productions.
Fund Goal
The EFADs have three Working groups, dealing respectively with: cinema in the digital era, copyright and finght againts piracy and film education. They meet on regular basis in different countries and following the main topics on the agenda. You can also find our common Position papers and press-releases....
Fund Goal
The Film and Audiovisual Centre's (Centre du cinéma et de l'audiovisuel) main objective is the support and promotion of audiovisual works through financial support mechanisms: scriptwriting, production, distribution, promotion, festivals, production collectivities. The Centre is also concerned by a...
Fund Goal
To develop a sustainable audiovisual industry, to encourage and support upcoming audiovisual talents and to promote a vibrant audiovisual culture in Flanders.
Fund Goal
Screen Flanders is your first stop for audiovisual activities in the Flanders Region (Belgium), providing financial support through its Economic Fund and information and services via its Film Commission.
Fund Goal
To generate a structuring effect on the audiovisual industry in the Brussels Capital Region, screen.brussels provides funding (3M€/y) for all type of content - Fiction, Documentary, Animation, VR, TV series, web series For all kind of screens (Theater, TV, Web..).
Fund Goal
To generate a structuring effect on the audiovisual industry in Wallonia
Fund Goal
The Belgian Tax Shelter encourages the production of European audiovisual works by giving an incentive to Belgian companies that invest in them. The Producer company receives a direct , immediate and non refundable cash flow benefit in exchange of eligible expenses made in Belgium and in the Economic...
Regulation
All the information concerning visa applications for Belgium is available on the website of the Foreigners Department of the FPS Home Affairs, which is the competent Belgian authority for access to the territory, stay, residence and removal of foreigners in Belgium.
Nationals of most third countries outside the European Economic Area (EEA) are under an obligation to hold a visa for a proposed stay of a maximum duration of 3 months on the territory of the SCHENGEN States.
If you wish to stay for more than 3 months in Belgium, you must first receive authorisation from the minister competent for entry, stay, settlement and removal of foreign nationals, or his delegate (Aliens Office)
Foreign employees, self-employed people and trainees must declare their activities in Belgium to the government in advance. This mandatory declaration is part of a larger project, Limosa, which is intended to create a better framework for the employment of foreign workers in Belgium. Actors and crew members, however, are exempt from this declaration if their stay in Belgium doesn’t exceed a total of 21 days per quarter. For more information : www.limosa.be
Nationals of countries belonging to the European Economic Area are not obliged to obtain a work permit for their activities in Belgium and neither are employees of companies situated within the European Economic Area. Actors and crew members of other nationalities are also exempt if their stay doesn’t exceed three consecutive months.
Permissions for shooting and delays in obtaining authorization vary from one region to another. To obtain specific information, please contact regional film commissions.
Belgium accepts ATA Carnet for the importation of goods for film production. It allows the temporary importation of goods without the need of making deposit/guarantee or submitting any Customs Declaration. For more information : www.iccwbo.org/ata/id2965/index.html
Standard VAT rate in Belgium is 21%. Reduced rates of 12% (certain solid fuels, pay television, social housing...) and 6% (transport of persons, establishment for culture, sports and entertainment, hotels, social housing, services supplied by institutions fro social promotion, services rendered by undertakers, work on real property…). Foreign companies selling goods in Belgium may be eligible for VAT refunds.
Copyright law in Belgium is mainly regulated by the Copyright Act of 30 June 1994, which has been significantly amended since its enactment. The latest amendment dates from 2005, when Directive 2001/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2001 on the harmonisation of certain aspects and related rights in the information society was implemented. In order to obtain copyright protection, the author does not need to follow any formal procedure, as copyright arises upon creation of the work. In principle, the term of protection under Belgian copyright law is 70 years following the death of the author. The author obtains two sets of exclusive rights over his work:
- moral rights, which are inalienable
- economic rights, which can be licensed and/or transferred, in whole or in part, to one or more third parties.
Film Commissions
Antwerpen
The ACFO handles over one hundred requests every year. It can help the producers of feature films, shorts, TV programmes, commercials, promotional films and graduation films, with finding the perfect location, providing full assistance and support for film crews and coordinating contacts between the...
La Hestre
BATCH offers services suitable on a case-by-case basis for each project, regarding decorating and shooting licenses. It helps professionals with logisitcs, informations and technical details in Hainaut.
Brugge
The City Film Office is managed by the City of Bruges and comes under the Bruges Tourist Office. Its goal is to promote Bruges as a city of culture and a tourist destination by offering assistance to audiovisual productions. The City Film Office takes care of filming permit, assists professionals with...
Liege
CLAPs assistance with projects consists of a range of services provided free of charge: location scouting, administrative support, casting organisation, press relations management, contacts with local authorities, providing various information etc. CLAP also financially supports short films through...
Gent
The Ghent Film Office guides professionals through their search for specific film locations and takes care of all permits. It helps with the administration and asks in the internal network like the Police Department, the Fire Department, etc. It can also give logistic support by lending all types of...
Ostend
The Ostend Film Office also covers the following adjoining municipalities: Mariakerke, Raversijde and Zandvoorde.
Brussels
Location Flanders is the first stop to a network of local film offices providing information, introductions and support to filmmakers, both internationally and nationally. It supplies information about Flanders as a location for features, television films and series, documentaries, music videos, commercials,...
Brussels
“The main mission of the screen.brussels film commission is to coordinate and facilitate all types of filming in the Brussels region. As part of visit.brussels, it has been serving as an interface between location managers and local authorities for 11 years. Concretely, it analyses the feasibility...
